Captivate Illumination
by Modular Blues
Summary: A collection of Sesshoumaru and Kagome one shots. Each chapter is independent, somewhat loosely related...
1. Directionless for a Night

_**Directionless for a Night**_

_By Modular Blues_

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Sunlight was sifting through the woods as a solitary figure trekked by, camera in hand. The air was soothing and crisp with a trace of pine. It was a fine day to take a walk and some pictures, just in case the right moments arrived.

Sesshoumaru had always looked forward to his periodic retreats from his hectic schedule as a magazine photographer. Nicknamed "The Silver Flash," he was well-known in his field for his talent and artistry. Yet his personal life was shrouded in mysteries. Even his few friends and associates could hardly grasp this elusive artist. One of his idiosyncrasies seemed to be his annual hiatus from September to November, in his private vacation spot that nobody knew where it was.

He was going about his aimless walk when he saw a robin skittering across his path not far in front of him. Its feathers were a brilliant red except for the tail, which was gleaming silver.

_Hello, new visitor,_ thought Sesshoumaru.

Almost by reflex, he had his camera ready. He was mildly surprised when another red robin with an iridescent blue tail fluttered next to the Silver-Tail. Rare find indeed. He smiled ever so slightly as he captured the two robins on live video.

Suddenly the sound of a car engine disrupted his concentration and scattered the birds. Sesshoumaru turned off his camera and frowned. Who on earth could possibly arrive at this neck of the woods?

He was fairly well-hidden behind a line of bushes and trees, but he could make out a black sedan slowing to a stop about twenty feet away. The engine was turned off and the interior lights came on. He could make out the silhouette of a woman reading what's probably a map.

So she's lost, he thought. He put his camera in his backpack and watched from a short distance back. This could turn out interesting.

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Just last night, Kagome got a phone call from her mother that Grandfather was ill. The mid-September back-to-campus rush prevented her from getting tickets for the next few days, so she decided to rent a car and drove over the next morning.

She spent most of that night lying awake and worrying about her grandfather. And whenever she finally fell asleep it must be rather late, for she woke up at 3PM, way past her alarm. Fortunately she already packed, so she quickly embarked in the little Volkswagen.

Kagome had been driving for the past fives hours and was feeling light-headed. By the time she realized she was really lost, she found herself practically in the middle of a forest. The narrow worn-asphalt road she was driving on was lined with trees and bushes on both sides. She pulled over and checked her map. Sure enough, after some recollection efforts she discovered that she took a wrong turn an hour ago – and everything went downhill from there. Great. At least it's not totally dark yet.

She called her mom on her cell phone and told her that she got lost and would be staying at a hotel. She assured her mom that everything was fine, even though it obviously was not. Her mom seemed convinced. Kagome put her cell phone in her purse and felt a pang of hunger. Sighing, she got out of the car and opened the trunk for some snack bars.

As she lifted up the trunk cover, she tensed. She felt someone's presence nearby. She cautiously shifted closer to the woods and looked in one of the side rearview mirrors. Her suspicion was confirmed when she saw a person's ear and silvery hair partially covered in shadow.

Almost simultaneously, Sesshoumaru realized she saw him. _Damn, so much for the cover._

The girl asked in a low voice, "Who's there?"

_Oh what the hell,_ Sesshoumaru emerged from behind the shrubs. Kagome whirled around, visibly frightened but doing a great job at staying calm. He stood about fifteen feet behind the car, calmly expressionless with a touch of amusement.

Kagome said, "I have nothing to steal, and – "

Sesshoumaru cut her off, "So I can tell." He found it vexing yet amusing that she would presume him to be a thief.

Kagome felt her anger rising. "If you'd excuse me, I have to drive three more hours away from this forsaken place."

Sesshoumaru checked his watch. It was half past eight, and the sun was lingering about the western horizon behind the trees. "It's gonna get dark soon and you'll get even more lost." He crossed his arms with a hint of a smirk.

Kagome frowned and narrowed her eyes. What's up with this annoying guy? Nonetheless, he had a point. Although what would she do in this middle of nowhere for a whole night?

Sesshoumaru eyed the girl in front him. She seemed exasperated and distressed at the same time. Somehow his interest in torturing the poor girl faded.

"I'm going back to my house. You can come if you want." He turned and walked into the forest.

Kagome quickly accessed her situation. Neither choice seemed that appealing: Alone in the car in the middle of a dark forest with possible bear attacks, or alone in a shelter of a stranger she just met. Well, she decided, she could handle people better than wild animals any day. And although that guy sure had a cavalier attitude, he seemed almost… trustworthy… if there's anything like that nowadays. She closed the car trunk and trailed after him before he completely disappeared into the woods.

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It was growing rather dark amongst the trees, and Sesshoumaru flicked on his flashlight. He could hear shuffling footsteps and the girl's breathing not far behind him. He was walking on a barely discernible path, first made by his father more than twenty years ago and renewed by him every year.

So she decided to come after all, he mused. Shouldn't she know better than taking the words of a stranger?

The woods grew denser for a minute but slowly became sparse. They were climbing up a hill. After fifteen minutes, Kagome found herself arriving at a fairly large clearing. She was amazed at how well-concealed this area was from the outside. It's about the size of half a soccer field, and there was an oddly-shaped house in the middle of it. The house was cylindrical with a hemispherical dome as the roof, rather like – an observatory – the thought struck Kagome.

She entered the living room and was just standing around while Sesshoumaru was slinging off his backpack. "The kitchen is straight ahead and the bathroom is on your right…" a pause. "And the bedroom is on your left. You could take the bed if you want." He went upstairs and disappeared behind a door.

Kagome looked around. The living room wasn't large, but the sparsely arranged furniture seemed to expand the space. There was a long couch, a glass table, a lava lamp, and a bookshelf with astronomy, photography books and assorted novels.

The interior design was in a black-and-white scheme, but there were colors on the walls – photos of constellations and galaxies and aurora borealis. Kagome stared at them, astonished at the exquisite colors. Upon closer inspection, most of them had the signature of what looked like "Sam R." in the margin. The pictures had dates and numbers on them, from 20 years ago to fairly recently.

Then she noticed a framed photograph on the bookshelf, propped in a way that it's almost hidden. It was what looked like a five-year-old version of the guy next to his father and a sleek professional telescope. Both of them seemed happy. Kagome began to wonder why he was living here alone.

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Sesshoumaru settled himself under the eyepiece of his father's telescope, now his. It looked like a great night for sighting auroras – clear sky and new moon. He connected the telescope to the computer display, appropriately circular-shaped to monitor the entire observable area from the dome. There was a small white circle on the screen, telling exactly where his telescope lens was relative to the dome. He designed the system with his father, the smartest and most knowledgeable man he ever knew, and thus the only one he respects. Yet the most he could do now was to grant his last wish.

Downstairs in the living room, Kagome took a book from the shelf, "Contemporary Photography," and began reading. Her ears were still pricked in case anything happened, but all was quiet except for insects chirping outside and the clock ticking 9:30.

Sesshoumaru went downstairs to grab a lemonade from the fridge. That was his favorite non-alcoholic drink while he's filming the marvels of a clear night sky. One of the things he learned from his father was to be sober while filming, out of respect for the filmed subject and the art of photography.

He saw Kagome sitting on the couch and reading something, or at least pretending to read. Their eyes met for a second. Kagome felt like she was completely scanned and analyzed in that one second. Sesshoumaru was utterly expressionless.

Kagome ventured, "Um, I really like these pictures…"

"Mmm." He remarked noncommittally, then proceeded to the kitchen. He emerged shortly after with his drink, "There's lemonade in the fridge and paper cups on the counter." and promptly went upstairs.

Kagome watched him go. She wondered what's up there. It looked like he's working hard with whatever he's doing upstairs. Anyway, she _was_ a bit thirsty. Lemonade sounded like a fine idea.

She puzzled over this guy. Aside from his dashingly long silver hair, he also possessed a refined handsomeness when she got a better look at him by the living room lights. Yet there's also a certain wistfulness about him, some hidden secrets that she'd probably never find out about.

Kagome tried to read, but felt her mind going in and out. Suddenly there was a loud clank followed by a few curses upstairs. She instinctively rushed up the stairs to see what's going on.

There was a door at the end of the stairs leading to the second floor. Kagome opened it and the room was almost pitch-black except for a few indicator lights. In that few seconds when her eyes were adjusting, she saw the guy fixing his chair and sitting down. He was staring at her intently with rather piercing amber eyes. Kagome immediately felt like she was intruding on something private. "Oh sorry is everything okay? Should I leave?"

Sesshoumaru stared at her for another moment, "If you want to stay just close the door," he muttered. He just saw the beginning of a most unusual aurora borealis, and when he reaching over to set up video recording on his machine, he almost tripped over his chair. Quite accidentally.

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Kagome closed the door and looked around. She could discern the faint outline of a telescope, the same one in the framed photo, and a circular computer screen nearby with a much smaller circle traced in white. She deduced that it was some sort of tracking device for the telescope. How fascinating, she watched in wonder.

Sesshoumaru was adjusting the angle and watching the computer screen intently. The auroras he had seen were usually a mixture of green or red waving curtains, but this time the aurora started out a pale lavender. It slowly morphed into a bluish shade of cyan starting from the tops, and grew into an undulating corona.

Kagome was also watching where the telescope was pointing. She was mesmerized by the sight, having only seen two much-less spectacular auroras a few years ago. She imagined herself beneath the pitch-black ocean and watching colorful jellyfish propelling through the water, except they were waving in place instead of moving forward.

Sesshoumaru stared into his telescope, transfixed. His father had always wanted to see a lavender/cyan corona. As the video streaming equipment was sending the motion picture directly into his laptop, he was just barely containing himself.

Kagome didn't notice because it was dark and Sesshoumaru masked his feelings too well. She said aloud, "This… this is really amazing..."

He did not reply, but his amber eyes were glowing as brightly as the aurora above. The corona continued waving and gradually turned into a kiwi green, a more common hue. He turned slightly and studied her outline in the dark. There was potential there, he thought when his fashion-photography mentality kicked in briefly. But she's definitely unlike any of those shallow bimbos he had to deal with…

Kagome felt the stare and turned in his direction. For a second the blue eyes met the ambers. Even after Sesshoumaru turned away, the afterimage echoed like ripples, energy waves across the cosmos. He decidedly stared into his telescope and somehow found his imagination blending with what he saw in her eyes. He suddenly felt a warm fuzz like when he saw his very first aurora. Except this time, he wasn't sure if it was because of the celestial phenomenon or the girl, or a combination of the two.

The corona was flattening out into the curtain form, with a tinge of red.

Kagome contemplated what she saw in his eyes. Wonder, quickly masked by passivity, and melancholy shadow right before he turned away. This unusual and beautiful stranger was one she'll never understand.

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Ever since his father's death, Sesshoumaru had been having trouble sorting out his feelings. He was the one who defined him and made him who he was. Sesshoumaru remembered being confused and lost for months right after the incident, not knowing what to do in life at all.

He eventually dealt with it by deliberately sidetracking himself whenever he felt himself reminiscing. Yet at that moment in the semi-darkness, whatever he was feeling was growing more and more concentrated.

Sesshoumaru stood up and watched the night sky without the telescope. He let himself be hypnotized by the shimmering aurora. It calmed him somewhat, even though he was feeling anything but peaceful a moment ago. When she caught him gazing at her, he was sure she saw something in his eyes then. He wondered about this strange girl. She seemed so perceptive yet innocent, and had a reckless sort of courage…

Kagome continued staring at the colorful lights. This certainly beat any fireworks, especially with the clear sky. Her mind wandered and she began humming – an improvisational tune like flower petals drifting into a stream, reflecting the moonlight in all different colors.

Sesshoumaru heard her humming and closed his eyes briefly. "Debussy?" He asked rather softly, surprising Kagome from her reverie.

"Yeah, I think…" She trailed off, amazed that he seemed almost gentle now. She was even more surprised when Sesshoumaru picked up her humming, improving Ravel, his baritone voice reverberating and blending with the colors above. He almost had a dreamy expression. Kagome mused. Sometimes words are simply inadequate.

Sesshoumaru was remembering his last aurora sighting with his father. It was over a lake about a mile from the observatory. The phantom green wisps in the sky were reflected on the lake surface, haunting and exquisite. Maybe she was thinking about the imagery with water as well.

The curtain was now entirely crimson and gradually fading. Sesshoumaru stopped humming and arched the telescope along the vanishing track until the aurora completely disappeared into the night sky.

Kagome really didn't want the magic to end. And neither did Sesshoumaru. Now the dome interior was almost pitch-black again except for the computer screen. Sesshoumaru said, "You should sleep. I'll be down in a second."

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Kagome walked down the stairs a little shakily. She really did need to sleep.

She plopped down on the couch and just before she fell asleep, she saw him coming downstairs. Then she drifted off completely.

Sesshoumaru ambled down the stairs and looked at the clock, which read 1:03. He went to his bedroom and fetched his blanket. He quietly and carefully covered it over her delicate frame. Despite himself, he took a good look at her before he turned the lights off and headed to his bedroom.

Sesshoumaru reflected. She's been the first person to catch an aurora sighting with him after his father died. And he didn't know who she was or where she's from… heck, he didn't even know her name. Maybe it's better that way. Attachments too often lead to disappointments in the end. He lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling until he fell asleep.

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Kagome's eyes snapped open at 7AM and she was surprised to find a blanket on her. It took a moment for the events of last night to re-register in her head. She got up and wandered around groggily until she saw the sleeping Sesshoumaru in his bedroom. She smiled when she examined his peaceful and almost innocent expression. Gently she draped the blankets over him, admiring his silver hair and his perfectly statue-worthy countenance. But she still had a three-hour drive to visit her sick grandfather. After some digging, she found a pen and a scrap paper and left a note.

Sesshoumaru woke up a little after 9AM and found the blanket on himself. He got up immediately and found the note:

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_Thank you very much for letting me stay for the night. Most of all, I had a_

_great time watching the absolutely fantastic auroras, and I hope you did too. _

_Maybe we'll run into each other sometime in the future… _

_Kagome _

_Cell: (250) 926-9202_

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Trailing ellipses… Which could mean anything and everything. But she did leave her cell number. That's a start.

Sesshoumaru put the note in a clear plastic wrap and placed it on his bookshelf. He went out to the same spot and found tire tracks in U-turn, and concentrated for a few seconds at what her license plate number was. Slowly his lips turned into an amused smirk. Having a photographic memory _is_ pretty useful. He pictured a very surprised Kagome when she found a CD with the aurora footage in her mailbox.

Sesshoumaru looked up just in time to see the silver-tailed robin flying over the woods across the graveled roadway.

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**End**


	2. Time Lapse

_**Time Lapse**_

_By Modular Blues_

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Kagome enjoyed taking pictures. Being the unofficially designated photographer at all the parties and family gatherings, she had developed a special instinct. The kind of fine-tuned instinct that hovers around the boundary of consciousness. A slight turn of the neck, a curving motion of the lips, a reflective glimmer of the eyes, Kagome learned to capture them all at just the right moment. Friends often say that she could and should be a professional photographer, but she found home in teaching middle school art classes and inspiring the youngsters when she could.

Sesshoumaru also enjoyed taking pictures. High-speed photography. Snapshots that divide a conventional moment into microseconds or even nanoseconds. Laws of physics and lots of practice enabled him to create the illusion of freezing time and slowing it down, so each image becomes amplified in impact. He always felt a thrill the moment he pressed the trigger. It's like delving into nature's secrets and exposing them to human eyes, almost voyeuristic.

Kagome looked outside the window. An overcast Saturday morning is a good time to visit the bookstore. She was bored and decided to check out whatever new books that awaited perusal. Taking a bus, her preferred mode of public transportation, she headed to the main branch of R&T.

Sesshoumaru was visiting his usual internet message board when a new thread caught his attention. Meister Edgardt, the pioneer of strobe photography, had published a new book on strobe techniques in science. Sesshoumaru was never one to idolize others, but he considered Edgardt to be one of a kind in this field. He would have to get a copy of the book for his upcoming projects. Grabbing his coat, he was out the door in a flash.

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Kagome stood in front of the building directory and found the arts and science section to be on the fifth floor. She vaguely recalled the photography books being there. She took an elevator up and soon located the shelves. _Let's see… ooh, Luigi Donitello's new collection…_

Sesshoumaru noticed that the bookstore's layout had not changed since he was here six months ago, except for the new artificial bouquets for decoration. He quickly located the photography section. _Hmm, there's someone else there too. Probably a recreational type._ He scanned up and down the array of books and spotted the book. He took it out and flipped to the table of contents. _Ahh, this is what I'm looking for. _He nodded to himself.

Kagome was studying a photo when she detected a presence a few feet next to her. She turned slightly and observed the newcomer in her peripheral vision. The first thing she saw was the long and gleaming silver hair. _Is that real? Someone has an idiosyncratic fashion sense. Classy outfit too. Like the displays at… _She caught herself and returned to her book.

Half an hour later, Kagome decided on two. The silver-haired stranger was still engrossed in the same one he started with. She went in search of a restroom on the seventh floor. Then she got in the elevator and pressed the "G" button. Two dings later, the car stopped and in strolled the same guy at the photography section. Both seemed mildly surprised at the coincidence.

They stood on opposite sides of the elevator as they descended to the fourth floor ten seconds later. And to the third floor… twenty seconds later. Sesshoumaru frowned slightly and Kagome was beginning to get fidgety. The elevator bumped to a halt before the second floor.

_Oh this is just WONDERFUL._ Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. _Please hurry up and get it moving and don't you dare snap the cable._

Kagome was momentarily panicked that the car was going to plunge toward the basement. When it turned out that it simply stopped and nothing seemed to be breaking, she let out a relieved sigh.

They waited patiently for the elevator to start again. Kagome started reading the posters in the elevator. A minute ticked by. Sesshoumaru jammed his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes. _Great. I have work to do and so happens to be stuck in the damn elevator._

He inhaled. There's a light floral scent in the air. _Very… soothing._ He turned and opened his eyes to look at his fellow trapped-in-elevator victim, who's trying to preoccupy herself.

Another minute inched away. Kagome stared at the posters, which just announced discount offers at the café on the first floor. _Oh I need a strawberry smoothie like right now. _She blinked and found the man looking at her. She returned his gaze with an okay-this-is-great-guess-we-should-call-maintenance look. He shrugged and pressed the button that connected to the emergency phone. A voice cracked at the other end. "R&T maintenance crew."

"Hello? There're two people stuck in elevator C-2." Sesshoumaru half-shouted into the receiver.

"We're so sorry sir, there appeared to be a… slight malfunction. Please stay calm and the maintenance crew will fix it in… about fifteen minutes." Click.

Sesshoumaru glared at the phone. _Fifteen minutes in an elevator._

Kagome muttered, "Just our luck huh?"

He raised one eyebrow, "You could say that again."

Half a minute of silence.

Kagome ventured, "Um, how was your bookstore visit... before this, I mean."

Sesshoumaru turned and observed her. _Sigh, making conversation once again._ "It was good. I got the book I was looking for." He took out his Edgardt book and started reading.

"Me too." _Well I guess that ice-breaker was worth a try._ Kagome decided to read her books too, so she took out the one that she didn't look over as much. As she was turning a page, she couldn't resist peeking at the cover of the book that he was reading. Something like "Strobe Photography in Science."

Sesshoumaru noticed her furtive glance and smirked ever so slightly. _Curious little bird._ He turned a page and shifted the book's position more vertically for convenience. _And you can stop squinting now._

At that very instant, he caught the title of her book as well. "Chiaroscuro in photography." _Now that's intriguing. What's his name... Donitello's trademark technique._

He sensed his thoughts straying from the book. Maybe because the oxygen level was dropping. And her scent is getting more concentrated in the enclosed space. _Please get me out of here soon..._

They glanced at their respective watches at the same time. _Five more minutes. If they're on time. Urgh._

Kagome's thoughts started wandering too. _Strobe photography... like the splashing milk droplets and the bullet through the apple._

"I wonder whatstrobe photography is like," she said aloud before she realized she did.

"A technical adventure with an artistic touch," said Sesshoumaru without looking up from his book. "And I see you're studying Donitello's techniques?"

"Yes, I've been experimenting with them digitally, but it's just a hobby."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."

A pause.

"So I guess you're a strobe photographer?"

"Apparently."

"I've always wanted to learn what it's about. Like the inner workings and the technical details." Kagome was earnest.

"Really." Sesshoumaru remarked nonchalantly. He took a second to formulate a response. "Some research labs ask me to take these pictures for them. Physicists and chemists with their fluid dynamics experiments."

Kagome nodded and reflected over what he said. _Like those really neat animations on science feature TV series._

A crackle from the elevator phone interrupted her thoughts. "Um, sorry it took awhile, but the elevator should work fine now. Thank you for your patience." Click.

When they came out, the store manager apologized over and over, even more profusely when he met Sesshoumaru's icicle stare. _At least we got our books for free. Heh._ _Gotta tell that to the Old Master and catch up with him sometime._

For no apparent reason, Sesshoumaru extracted a business card with his homepage address and gave it to Kagome. Then he prompted turned and left, leaving her wondering about this curious character.

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A week later, Kagome sent him a link to her homepage and asked to visit his studio. Sesshoumaru read the email with growing amusement and something else he couldn't quite fathom. _I've gotten soft. And she seemed genuinely interested. Yeah, how to refuse someone who's genuinely interested… _He recalled his first job with Meister Edgardt back in his college days.

He woke up that morning and still couldn't believe that he agreed to let her visit. Nobody had ever set foot in his studio/lab since five years ago when his father and half-brother came over.

The doorbell rang and he answered in his usual nonchalance. Kagome was a little hesitant but nonetheless excited. She glanced around, appreciating the simple elegance of his apartment. She noticed a baby-grand Bösendorfer piano resting against the living room wall. The ebony cover glimmered under the light. _That is such a gorgeous piano. Wish I could have one of these…_

Sesshoumaru walked a bit more slowly than usual. _This place feels different today. More… anticipatory. _He turned and found Kagome gaping at his Bösendorfer. _Amusing._

They traversed the living room and entered the studio/lab, shrouded in semidarkness. Kagome had never seen so many cameras and computers in one place. CCD's and infrareds and other ones that she didn't recognize were connected to the computer mainframes. They seemed to glow with the marvels within. She walked around and made a mental note of the general setup. _This is really heavy-duty stuff._

On one of the monitors, a colorful animation of a hummingbird's flight unfolded in slow motion. _That's some screensaver,_ Kagome stared at the brilliant hues and level of details. _On a kickass digital processor too._

Sesshoumaru examined his equipment and made sure everything was in working order. He smirked to himself as he watched her from the corner of his eyes. _No doubt smitten by my state-of-the-art machines._

He picked up his hat, tucked his hair in and pressed it into his head. _A bucket hat? I was expecting a beret. It doesn't quite go with the shirt he's wearing…_ Kagome stifled a grin when he caught her staring.

_Sometimes one has to sacrifice an impeccable fashion sense for a greater purpose. _Sesshoumaru used to wear the olive-colored hat when he was fishing with his father. _Oh those were the times. _The hat was like… an amulet to help him concentrate and enter a zen state, whether it's fishing or strobe photography.

He put on a pair of latex gloves, took a bottle of glycerin from the shelf, and measured out some quantities with a graduated cylinder. "I'm photographing water droplets with different viscosities, so adding glycerin here makes the water more viscous." _Gosh I sound like a grad student giving lab tours,_ he rolled his eyes.

"What concentrations are you using?" Kagome grabbed a revolving chair nearby and watched the pouring motions.

Sesshoumaru paused at looked at her with curiosity. _Hmm, not afraid to ask questions._ "Ten to seventy percent by volume, with ten percent increments. And careful not to move around too much around the sensitive equipment." He stared at her firmly but with no reproach.

"Oh sorry." Kagome blushed. She was getting a little too excited.

Sesshoumaru finished preparing the solutions. He peeled off his gloves and began setting up the photographic equipment. _A switch here, a knob turn there, and making sure the target is in focus. _He liked to play some excerpts from Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody" in his head when he's adjusting the focal length. The trance-inducing rhythms would settle him into a hypnotic groove.

"Water drops are tricky to shoot because they're transparent and can refract light." He turned around. _Rather like your eyes,_ his mind wandered as he mentally slapped himself to the task at hand. His expressions, or lack thereof, betrayed none of his thoughts.

He continued, "So I use this stroboscope that generate flashes, and I can time this to synchronize with how fast the drops are falling." He mounted the equipment so the light source was beneath the drops. "This way enough light can pass through." He looked at Kagome impassively.

Kagome watched him setting up the equipment in fluent dexterity. _And his lean, long fingers. I bet he still plays the piano… _He seemed so rapt in concentration, even meditative. She dared not to make a sound, for fear it might break the perfect smoothness of the moment. His eyes, partially covered by the hat, were like ageless crystals of amber. His hands worked in tandem with them like a well-oiled machine, yet with such grace.

Sesshoumaru was setting up each solution to drip from micropipette tips and timing the flashes with how fast the drops fell. He turned one of the camera's knobs to adjust the shutter settings. He felt her gaze from a few feet away and tried to empty his mind of stray thoughts, for he could not be distracted right now. Every detail had to be accurate and precise. Though he was a little disturbed that his practiced routine was taking longer than before.

Then he realized the strobe lights were dimmer than usual. Either because they were having a brown-out or the computers were taking a lot of electricity. Probably the latter since the computers seemed to run fine. _Oh the timing._

"What's wrong?" asked Kagome when her reverie was intruded by an exasperated groan.

"There seems to be a brown-out and the strobe lights aren't bright enough."

Kagome thought for a brief moment, "Maybe this would help." She took out her keychain and threaded the small flashlight out. "I mean, this could provide additional steady light, and we can adjust the contrasts on the computer afterwards... right?"

Sesshoumaru pondered this. _Guess can't hurt to try._ "We have to anchor the light source though." He pulled out a drawer with

Erlenmeyer flasks of various sizes and found one that the flashlight fit snugly into. Kagome took the flask and placed it underneath the strobe light.

Sesshoumaru typed away in front of the computer screen. "Could you move the flashlight a bit to the left? Good." A few more mouse clicks and the system was a go.

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The actual shooting took no longer than a few minutes. Afterwards, they viewed the clips from the monitor and adjusted the contrast to make the droplets show up better. The way the droplets rippled the water surface and bounced out in concentric circles reminded Kagome of figure skating or synchronized swimming. The slow motion was beautifully symmetric and never ceased to amaze her. She could stare at this forever and never be bored.

Sesshoumaru was noting his observations of how the concentrations affected the splash patterns. _Good old fluid dynamics._ He could almost hear Prof. Edgardt's penetrating yet calming voice explaining the Navier-Stokes equations. It was such a headache deriving them, and maybe that's why he remembered them as a jumble of symbols at the present moment.

Kagome suddenly asked, "What if I'd like throw a rubber ball against the wall and record the moment of impact?"

"You could…" Sesshoumaru trailed off.

"Could I try it now?" She grinned.

"No." He tried not to laugh out loud. "Not today at least."

"Okay." Kagome decided that she had enough excitement for the day anyway. "But one of these days."

"Indeed."

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A few days later, Kagome found a package for her at the front desk of her apartment. It felt weighty and substantial – and it was from Sesshoumaru. She rushed upstairs and opened it. It's a copy of the new strobe photography book he got at the bookstore. Inside there was a note:

_Prof. Edgardt just sent me a copy with his signature, which I intend to keep for myself. Thus I present my other copy to you. Hope you enjoy._

Kagome beamed. She knew she was going to have lots of fun with this.

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**End**


	3. Optical Illusion

**_Optical Illusion _**

_By Modular Blues_

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_(This was a three-hour semi-free-stream writing experiment, hence a style change from my previous works. But I just had to get it out. Revision pending. Not too sure about sequel/trilogy at this point…)_

**Part I. (?)**

It was a normal day in an ordinary elementary school. Childhood played out its timeless drama. Basically, that means learning random factoids and reading random stories and playing random games in gym classes and drawing random pictures in art classes and talking about the usual stuff in lunch rooms.

All the fifth grade classes were preparing for the annual intramural athletic events, a.k.a. the Fifth Grade Olympics (FGO). Excited chatters rippled across the classrooms as the kids waited for their teachers to tell them all about it. What kind of fun awaited them.

In one of the classrooms, Kagome sat near the front window and daydreamed. As always.

Her best friend Sango sat to her left, ready to poke her with a pencil.

Olgie the Gossiper crossed her arms a few seats behind them and rolled her eyes. How boring.

Sam the Whiz leaned back and stretched in the other back corner. How amusing.

His buddies Miguel the Picasso and Kraf the Bodyguard traded smirks with him. They could never pronounce his given name properly, so they called him Sam.

Their teacher began scribbling on the board as she described the events. Dodge ball and Frisbees and track. Okay everything's normal so far. Then the kids grimaced when they heard about the obstacle course.

This had always been the wild card event in the FGO. One of the gym coaches liked to keep it a surprise… the more outrageous the better.

This year, it would be a relay race run by eight teams of two. A boy would piggyback a girl, who would carry a tray of water to the destination bucket thirty yards away. Whichever team got the most water in the end would win.

Right after the mention of the boy-girl pairing, all the boys looked at Kagome, and all the girls looked at Sam the Prince Charming.

Well, Kagome was a wiry little girl and rather petite, so of course that would make the boy's job a lot easier.

Even at that age, Sam the Whiz already had a fanclub. His hair wasn't long and he wasn't that tall back then, but still.

Then the teachers numbered the students and randomly determined the pairs… and guess what happened. Yep.

Kagome could feel the icy glares of jealousy from many girls. As if they wanted to skin her alive. Even though she was just an absent-minded little girl who didn't even like boys in general. They're so troublesome.

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On the day of the FGO, the weather was fine and nothing seemed out of place. Everything proceeded as usual. Kraf still aced the discus, Sam in Frisbees, he and Miguel in jail dodge ball, Sango in the 500-yard run and Kagome in the 100-yard run. Those long legs came in handy.

Time for the obstacle course. When it was their turn, Sam picked up Kagome and she picked up the tray of water. Very carefully.

They were going at a steady pace. Kagome was trying to still the wavelets of water in the pan and her own concentration, fading in and out from being under the sun for a while and the fact she was straddling the Whiz Prince. It's a heady thing.

Sam was approaching the bucket. Ten yards. Five yards. Suddenly, Kagome's hand loosened and the tray slipped.

Okay. It turned upside-down on his head, soaking him and blocking his view. He stumbled and fell forward and in an attempt not to fall on top him, she leapt away but somehow lost her balance and hit the ground at the same time he did. Face to face. Mouth to mouth. Their lips and teeth smudged against each other. Pain radiated into their head.

All the witnesses froze in shock.

Seriously, Kagome would rather break all her teeth or even fall into a coma at that instant. The reporter-effect spread the news far and wide. Copious giggling and whispering and fake love letters and random death notes ensued in the next few days.

Even Sango asked, are you really going out with that guy? Someone wrote in a bathroom stall that she saw you two at Furger King's last week.

Kagome was like, no I didn't! I don't even like him! Boys are disgusting animals!

Even if they were, Kagome secretly thought, it's satisfying to be matched up with the Whiz Prince. Very much so.

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It was one of those hazy afternoons, and Kagome was daydreaming yet again. She saw a flash of silver by the window. He paused. Kagome stared. He turned. Kagome froze. The universe stopped and rotated around them, etc. His lips slowly formed into a smile. A smirky-confident-amused one. Kagome returned a smile too. A dazed-embarrassed-apologetic one.

That night she rhapsodized and brewed a fairy tale of a comic, modeled on Cinderella. Very closely indeed.

A few days later, Kagome was still enraptured in the sublime act of artistic inspiration when Olgie materialized as the Evil Stepsister. She sneaked to her desk when Kagome wasn't looking and stole the comics. And shared with a bunch of gossipy girls. The reporter-effect in action once more.

Sam's buddies started bugging him. Miguel sketched suggestive images while Kraf patted Sam on the back and nodded knowingly every time. To which the Whiz Prince replied with tastefully rude comebacks. Although this did give him a few ideas…

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Little Sam looked up his father's optics text and somehow constructed a small telescope. He told him that it was for watching birds. What's unusual was that he could aim it apparently off-target yet still be able to observe the target. The marvels of optics. (AN: I actually don't have factual base for this :P)

The stalking began. Then the pranks. Little innocuous ones involving cryptic messages and (erasable) textbook doodles and fake blood and dead bugs became the highlights of her days, just enough to drive Kagome nuts and confused. Could he really hate her that much?

Could their hint of a sort of friendship be so ephemeral?

Sango tried to comfort her friend. But the fact was that she couldn't figure out what's going on either. And of course, Kagome was too embarrassed to go to the teacher for this type of thing. So the trio had wicked fun coming up with pranks and carrying them out. Did Kraf and Miguel know better? Maybe. But they continued until near the end of school.

Then news came that Sam was moving away. Family stuff.

The class had a little goodbye, and his fanclub members were close to tears. It was embarrassing to see Olgie beside herself. Of course, Kagome stayed cool and didn't even look at him.

After school was officially over and everyone was leaving, Sam reached into his backpack and extracted a paper roll. He had to catch Kagome. She was going out the door. He jogged up behind her.

Yes? Kagome's eyes narrowed at him and the roll of paper, expecting another prank.

For you, Sam replied. Simply and honestly.

Kagome took the roll and unfurled it. She recognized it from the showcase in the art hallway. A futuristic drawing of a cityscape.

Kagome looked at him. He stood motionless yet his golden eyes spelled eagerness.

I can't take this, she said.

Why not, he sounded impatient.

There's no why, I just can't, Kagome rolled the paper up and stuck it back at him.

His eyes flashed a series of inflections that Kagome could not quite fathom. The way liquid crystals reflect light under different levels of electricity.

He took his artwork back. In resignation. Kagome was surprised. Then puzzled. Then she felt something that resembled shattered glass.

The young Prince faded from view and from her life. It was certainly not love in that sense and hardly qualified as romantic. They barely spoke to each other. Yet the simple joys of friendship and naïve imagination were gone… forever…

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**End (?)**


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